Wild
by Chibi Iggy
Summary: Nobody was supposed to know. They were to be hidden forever, from the moment they were born. But anybody who'd thought about it would've realized they couldn't be locked up forever. Now they've escaped, and there are people that have learned their secret.
1. Chapter 1

What, a new story? Yes, I'm stupid enough to start another. But this idea wouldn't quit poking me in the head until I wrote it. And neither would Lindsay. So here you have it!

Be warned: I wrote this late at night. When I hardly even had any sleep the night before. So I'm _very _tired. Sorry for my crappy braindead writing.

Hetalia's not mine.

* * *

The woman screamed. This wasn't right. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. These things… were these supposed to be her pride and joy? The ones she waited for during the last nine months? What had happened? How was this even possible?

The nurse nearly fainted, but she quickly pulled herself together. She ran out of the room, careful to step over the new father that had fainted during the birth, and alerted the doctor of what had happened. He looked shocked, but he nodded.

"We were told about this," he said. "But I never would have expected it to be true." He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone, hoping he had kept the number. With a sigh of relief when he saw that he had, he dialed.

Within twenty minutes of the call, two men walked into the hospital room. They reached their hands out and the woman, having already been informed of why they were coming, handed the two baby boys to them.

"Not going to change your mind?" one man asked her. She looked up at her now conscious husband and shook her head. "Then never speak of this," he told her, and they turned towards the door. As they left, she passed out from the stress. But not before she could hear one of the boys start to cry.

* * *

Seventeen years later to the day, a boy was running down the streets of an unfamiliar town. Few people payed him any mind as he sprinted by, save for those who were not in a hurry and had time to notice such things. And those in even less of a hurry might have noticed the look of fear on his face.

Though he didn't know where he was going, the boy was confident he could find a hiding place. This place just happened to be in the park he ended up coming to. He came up to a ten foot tall stone wall surrounding a fair-sized garden, and without stopping he jumped, landing on the top of it with ease. Luckily he wasn't noticed by anybody but a small child who now had a shocked look on her face. With a quick look behind him to be sure he wasn't followed, he leapt down into the garden, landing lightly.

Seeing that the gate on the other end was locked, leaving the place empty, he sat down on one of the wooden benches.

"Dammit," he said to himself. "Took me forever to loose those bastards." He placed both hands on top of his head, as if he was holding something down. "I know I've practiced and all, but I didn't know it would be so damn hard to hide when I have to focus on other things…" he mumbled, still to himself. Hearing a voice, even his own, was comforting.

Seeing the setting sun, he yawned and stretched. '_Might as well sleep,_' he thought. He curled up on the bench in a small ball and drifted off within minutes.

It was in this same position he woke the next morning when he heard the rattling of the gate lock.

"Shit!" he said, hopping up and hiding behind a shrub. Peeking between the leaves and branches, he saw another boy come in. '_He must take care of the garden_,' he thought. From where he was, he could tell this other boy had dark brown hair and bright green eyes. His skin was tan, darker than he was used to seeing. Then again, it's not like he knew many people.

Afraid of what would happen if he was found, he waited until the tan boy's back was turned and hopped back over the wall.

* * *

The next few days were similar, but instead of running, he was wondering around the park. Every night he would sleep on that same bench, and every morning he would run when the gardener came. Though each day he seemed to wait just a little bit longer. '_No, that's stupid_,' he thought. '_It's just taking him longer to turn around, so I can't leave right away._'

After about a week, this cycle was disrupted. Instead of waking up when he heard the gate, he had slept through the noise. Instead, he woke up because of the odd feeling that he was being watched.

And he was.

When he opened his eyes, he saw green ones staring back at him.

"W-what the hell do you think you're doing!" he yelled at the gardener. "What kind of bastard just stares at people when they sleep?"

"What kind of person sleeps on a park bench?" he countered. He had no response to this. In fact, now that his flash of anger was over, he was totally speechless. He couldn't remember the last time he had spoken to a person he didn't know. He suddenly felt a bit shy… no not quite shy. Perhaps nervous would be a better word. And embarrassed. It was all he could do to keep the blush he felt from showing. Apparently he didn't try hard enough.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" the tan boy asked, leaning in closer. This only caused him to blush more, and his mind started racing. He started to feel a slight push in two places on his head and near the bottom of his back. '_Not good. Can't concentrate_,' he thought.

"I'm fine, bastard!" he yelled. The other boy frowned.

"You shouldn't say stuff like that, it's not nice," he said, then he smiled again. "Call me Antonio!"

"I'll call you whatever I want, bastard!" In his mind, he was panicking. If he couldn't get his focus back soon, then he would… "I'm leaving!" he announced and turned to the gate.

"Oh, wait!" Antonio grabbed the boy's arm to keep him from going. He turned him around to face him, pulling him closer than he had intended to. Their noses were only a half an inch apart. "Why were you-" he stopped mid-sentence to stare at the top of the boy's head, which now had something… strange.

Having lost all focus when their faces were that close, he could no longer hide them. On top of his head was a pair of ears, like those of a cat, the same shade of brown as his own hair. Antonio's eyes then caught sight of something behind the boy moving, and looked to see that he also had a tail.

The boy tried to leave, but Antonio was still holding onto his arm. "Let me go!" he demanded.

"But… how…" Antonio whispered, still looking at the ears.

"Let me go!" he yelled again. Antonio looked at the boy's face, seeing a desperate look in his eyes. "I have to go! I have to leave! If I stay here, you'll tell them. They'll take me back. They'll-" He was cut off by a hand covering his mouth.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anybody," Antonio told him with a grin. It was then that an idea struck him. "Why don't you come with me. You can calm down at my place. And you've been sleeping outside, so I think both you and your clothes could use a good washing."

Unable to think well enough to say anything, he just nodded. "So what's your name?" Antonio asked him.

"You don't need to know, bastard," he said as he closed his eyes and his ears and tail were hidden again.

They walked in awkward silence. Well, it wasn't really awkward for Antonio, who was still smiling and acting as if the person next to him wasn't… abnormal, to say the least. After ten minutes with nothing said, the boy whispered, "Lovino."

"Hm? What was that?"

"I said my name's Lovino," he said louder. Antonio smiled at him.

"Lovino, huh? That's a cute name!" Lovino's eye twitched at this.

"Don't call me fucking cute, bastard!" he said, elbowing the other in the side. He just laughed it off, making Lovino even angrier, but he didn't hit him again.

Antonio wanted to learn more about Lovino. Why had he been sleeping outside? Who were the people he said would "take him back"? And most importantly: Why was he part cat? He desperately wanted to ask all of these questions, but somehow he knew he wouldn't be getting any answers at the moment. '_Oh well. I'll just ask Lovi later!_ ' he thought, and the two continued walking through the town in silence.

* * *

So that's the first chapter. I'll write a few chapters of Lovino and Antonio, then a few of the next group, then the next, then start back up with Lovino and Antonio again. It'll go in a circle. And there will be times where the parts overlap, too.

There are going to be several parings throughout this. And different people will have different animal traits ^^

Give me your thoughts, good or bad, on what I have so far.


	2. Chapter 2

Next chapter up already? Wow, that's like a new record for me or something. Then again, half the reason I'm writing right now is because I don't feel like studying for my exams tomorrow ^^;

Sorry that it's a bit shorter than last time. I'll try to make other chapters longer than this.

I hate disclaimers. They give me the painful reminder that I don't own this awesome anime.

Enjoy~

* * *

After a long walk, Antonio and Lovino came to a small, one story house. Since the house was on a corner and they had approached from the side of the house, Lovino had a good view of the back yard, which he saw had a _huge _tomato garden. '_That explains why he reeks of the things…_' he thought, then quickly pushed away the realization that he had payed attention to what the guy smelled like.

After Antonio unlocked the door, he led Lovino inside and took him to the family room. He told Lovino to sit down and wait there for a second and ran off. Soon he was back with a small pile of clothes.

"Here, change into these after you wash up," he said, handing him the clothes. "They're a little too small for me now, but they should fit you. I'll wash your dirty clothes later." Lovino looked like he was going to say something, but then he just nodded. When Antonio pointed to the bathroom door, he walked away to take his shower.

It was a pure white bathroom, not like what he was used to. All he had ever lived with was an old toilet that looked like it would break if you touched it and a pipe jutting out of the wall for a shower. There hadn't even been a proper bar of soap, just a lump of it which also served as shampoo. The room also hadn't had a lock, which had led to several awkward situations.

As he stepped under the stream of hot water, a thought that had been bothering him surfaced in his mind again. Something that just wouldn't leave him alone. So why hadn't he said anything? He pushed the thought away, not wanting to deal with it at the moment. It could wait until he was done with his shower, at least.

When he had finished washing and dried himself off, he inspected the clothes he had been given: a worn pair of jeans and a black shirt with… the guy seriously owned a shirt with a tomato on it? '_What the hell?_' he thought, but he put it on anyways because he would rather not walk out there shirtless.

"Aw~ Lovi, you look so cute in that shirt!" Antonio said when "Lovi" came back into the family room and plopped himself down on the couch. Lovino just crossed his arms and looked away, earning him a confused look from person next to him.

"What are you looking at, bastard?" Lovino grunted.

"Well, you seem kinda… I don't know, spaced out. What happened to that temper?" he asked.

"I don't have a temper!" he yelled back.

"Haha, that's a bit more like it," Antonio laughed. "But you still look like you're thinking about something." Lovino sighed, not feeling like yelling again.

"It just takes a lot of concentration to keep… you know, _those_ hidden." Antonio just stared blankly. "You're a fucking idiot… the ears and the tail, dumbass."

"Ooooooooh!" Lovino facepalmed. Antonio thought for a second and asked, "Why do you have to hide them? It's not like there's anybody in this house who doesn't already know. Besides, it's kinda cute~"

Lovino glared at him. "They're not cute!" he shouted. "But… you do have a point. The part about not really needing to hide them…" He stood up, took a deep breath, and let his cat ears and tail show themselves again. He looked a bit relieved, but also a bit irritated that he was being stared at again.

"Do you really have to look at them like they're gonna jump up and start dancing?" he asked as he sat back down, careful not to crush his tail.

"Oh, sorry, Lovi," Antonio said.

"Don't call me Lovi! My name's Lovino!" Antonio laughed.

"Whatever you say, Lovi~" After a bit more yelling between them (actually, Lovino was the only one who yelled. Antonio just kept smiling at him) there was silence. That was when that thought came back to Lovino. Without looking up, he asked the one question that had been on his mind since Antonio had said he wouldn't tell anybody about the ears.

"What do you want?"

"Hm? What do you mean, Lovi?"

"What do you want from me?" Seeing that the other was still confused, Lovino continued. "You're keeping my secret, giving me a place to stay, giving me clothes, and treating me like…" he didn't finish the last part. "All for some… some freak that you don't even know. It makes no sense…"

"You're not a freak," Antonio told him, causing the other to look up in surprise. "Just because you have _this,_" he said, gesturing to the tail that had fallen into his lap (which Lovino immediately pulled away when he noticed it was there) "that doesn't mean you're a freak. You're still a person who needed help, and I wanted to be the one to help you!"

Lovino didn't know what to say, so he just looked away to avoid answering. And also to hide the light blush on his cheeks. '_Damn face, quit it! _' The room would have been completely quiet, if not for the sudden loud growling of Lovino's stomach. Antonio laughed and walked over to the kitchen. He came back and held a bright red tomato out to Lovino, who took it and and took a large bite out of it.

'_He must have been really hungry_," Antonio thought when the boy finished him tomato in seconds. '_I wonder why he didn't just ask for food?_' Lovino stretched and yawned.

"I'm gonna go take a nap," he said.

"The's bedroom's down there," Antonio said, pointing to one of the doors.

"Okay… wait. _The _bedroom? As in the _only _bedroom?" he asked.

"Yeah. Is something wrong?" Antonio asked with a clueless look on his face.

"Hell yeah, something's wrong!" Lovino yelled at him. "I'm not sharing a bed with you!"

"But what other choice is there?"

"I hope you like that couch, bastard, 'cause you're sleeping on it" he told him, and then stomped off to go take his nap.

* * *

Aw, Lovi. You're so mean to him…

This is the last chapter for a while of these two. I have to write about the other people that are… special like Lovino. Here's a hint for the main ones: another cute Italian, an awesome Prussian, and a thick-eyebrowed Brit. Can you guess who they are? lol, I sure hope you can. There will be others, too. They just won't be main characters.

The outfit Antonio gave Lovi is what I had him wearing when I decided I wanted to draw a chibi Lovi with his ears and tail (which Lindsay and I have been calling Nekomano~)

I'm not sure how long it will take me to update next, but it should be soon. The exact amount of time depends on how much Megan and Lindsay yell at me to keep writing…

Reviewers get to pet Lovi~


	3. Chapter 3

Sadly, with the way I want this to work, I can't stay on Lovino and Antonio right now. But don't worry, it'll go back to them eventually and pick up where it left off. Until then, it's time to bring in another adorable Italian ^^

* * *

Rewind about a week. Lovino was not the only person who had been running that one day. In fact there were several others. One of them was on the other side of the town, a boy similar to Lovino in appearance was sitting up in a tree. It was obvious he was on the verge of tears, and every time somebody walked by, he would call out to them.

"Ve… can you help me? I'm lost and…" but he never got to finish because every person just gave him an odd look and walk past quickly, pretending he wasn't there. "I wonder what I'm doing wrong?" he asked himself. "Maybe I should try harder to get their attention…"

It was twenty minutes before anybody else came by. It was a woman walking a small white dog. When they got near the tree, the dog stopped and started sniffing the air, growling softly.

"What's wrong, girl?" the woman asked. Her question was almost instantly when the boy swung down in front of her. Upside down. He was now hanging down, holding on to a branch with his legs.

"Can you help me? I…" The rest of what he said could not be heard over the woman's scream. She then proceeded to slap him across the face with her purse and run off with her barking dog. He rubbed his cheek where he had been hit as he pulled himself upright on the branch again.

"Ve… that hurt…" he mumbled. "I definitely got her attention, but maybe that wasn't the best idea." After deciding to stick with asking people the normal way like he had been before (because he didn't think it was odd that he was doing this from a tree) he sat down to wait for people to pass.

* * *

In a house across the street, somebody was watching this strange boy. He wouldn't watch him for long. Just for a minute or so at a time, and then he would leave to do something else. But no matter how many times he walked away, he always found himself coming back not long after to see if the boy was still there.

And he always was.

When night came and the boy was still up there, now sobbing into his hands, Ludwig couldn't help it any more. He sighed, thinking he was going to regret this, but he walked out the door and over to the tree.

"Hey, um… is something wrong?" he asked the crying boy, who instantly looked up when he heard the voice.

"Oh, can _you _help me? Nobody else has payed any attention to me, and I'm really lost and I have nowhere to go and-" Before he could keep rambling, he was cut off.

"Here, how about you just come inside? I'm sure Mutti can help you better than I could." The boy nodded and hopped out of the tree, then started running towards the house.

"Wait, how do you know that's my house?" he asked.

"Oh, I saw you watching me through the window!" he called behind him. A little shocked that he had been seen, he followed the boy, who he noted was showing no signs of the tears he had been shedding just moments ago.

"Oh, who's this?" his mom asked as the two came inside.

"I'm Feliciano!" the boy said cheerfully.

"Nice to meet you, Feliciano," she said. "Is he a friend of your's, Ludwig?" she asked, turning to her son.

"No, he's the one that's been in the tree asking for help all day," Ludwig explained. She raised an eyebrow and looked at Feliciano, who was absentmindedly turning his head around to look at everything in the house.

"And what exactly did you need help with?" she asked him.

"Ve, I…" he stopped to search for the right words, "I'm really lost and I don't really have anywhere to go. I was hoping I could find somebody that would let me stay with them, just for the night." He had an expression that said he was waiting for her to say that there was no way she would let a stranger stay in her house.

"Of course that's okay," she told him. His eyes brightened up when she said this.

"Grazie! Thank you so much!" Feliciano said.

"No problem. But I just have one question," she said. "Where are your parents? Won't they be worried about you?" He frowned when she asked this.

"I don't really know where they are. I've never met them…" everybody was silent for a few moments, but then Ludwig's mom spoke up again.

"In that case, I think you'll be staying for more than just the night. Feel free to stay for as long as you need to." After much more thanks from Feliciano, she told Ludwig to show him to the guest room.

"Mutti, the guest room is taken, remember?" Ludwig said. At this point, he wasn't surprised that she had forgotten about his cousin that had been staying with them. He got lost wondering around the house so often that they rarely ever saw him.

"Right… well, I guess you'll just have to share your room." Knowing better than to argue (as nice as she was being, she could get very angry) Ludwig led the smaller boy to his room.

"Ve~ this is like a sleepover!" Feliciano said with a grin as he practically skipped into the well-organized bedroom.

"I guess… Well, I suppose we should go ahead and go to sleep, then," Ludwig said, trying not to show that the thought of sharing his bed bothered him a bit. '_Okay, more than a bit, but it's not like I have a choice._'

As Ludwig pulled back the covers and was about to climb in, Feliciano had a slightly worried look on his face. Looking away, he said, "V-ve… I just remembered… um, if we're sharing a room, then I need to show you something. I can't hide it when I'm asleep, so it would be best to show you now."

"Okay, then. Go ahead," Ludwig told him, not knowing what to expect.

"You have to promise you won't get scared or mad or anything," he said with a look too serious for him. When Ludwig nodded, Feliciano turned around. As he did, something sprouted from the very bottom of his back.

"Is that a… tail?" Ludwig asked in amazement. Feliciano nodded, and then pointed to the two cat-like ears that had appeared on top of his head. Ludwig just stared at him, unable to think of anything to say.

"You probably think I'm weird now, don't you?" Feliciano asked with a sad look in his eyes. "I knew this would happen. I'll just go, then…" Tears were starting to well up in the corners of his eyes as walked to the door.

"Wait! I…" Ludwig couldn't believe he was about to say this, but he couldn't just let Feliciano leave and sleep outside. "It's okay. There's nothing wrong with that." Feliciano instantly spun back around and tackled Ludwig into a hug.

"Really? Thank you!" he said. Then he jumped under the covers. "Buonanotte, Ludwig," he whispered. In seconds he was fast asleep.

'_How did he fall asleep that fast?_' Ludwig wondered. '_And why am I even thinking about that? There's a boy with a tail in my bed! _' He shook his head, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

He climbed into the bed as well, trying not to think about Feliciano sleeping next to him. Which was very hard to do when he had turned over in his sleep and started hugging Ludwig? Afraid of waking him up, he didn't push him off. Instead he just closed his eyes and tried to sleep, ignoring the tail he occasionally felt flick against his leg.

* * *

*sigh* Don't really like how this came out. Or how short it is. Why can't I write longer chapters? And it doesn't help that it looks even shorter the way the website posts it…

I had most of this written the same day as the first two chapters, but it didn't seem right. I tried to add to it, but… well, I guess you can decide if it's any good.

Yes, Feliciano's a cat, too. Lindsay and I (can you tell she was the one who I had help me with most of the basic planning?) decided that they would both make good cats. Feli would be that cat that sits in your lap and purrs all the time, and Lovi would be the one that always hisses at you and claws at your hand if you try to pet it.

They won't all be cats, of course. You'll just have to wait to see what the others will be ^^ Internet cookies for anybody who can guess (Megan and Lindsay, you're not allowed to guess) And not just the ones I mentioned in other author's notes, but others people, too. Just because they won't be main characters doesn't mean some other people won't be animals ^^


	4. Chapter 4

I just can't seem to stop writing this story. Which is always good when I get stuck on the others. Having a story that I know more about the direction it's going and how it will get there is nice for once.

I just realized that with only half the chapters, less than half the words, and half the hits, Wild has more reviews and alerts than In the Streets of Seattle o.o Wow, I never would have guessed that. Hell, I never would have even written this down if my friend didn't make me, so the fact that people are reading it… wow.

Well, on with the chapter!

* * *

When Feliciano awoke the next morning, he was alone. He sprang out of bed, panicing for a moment, until he heard Ludwig's loud voice from downstairs. He didn't sound like he was mad, he just seemed to speak louder than most people.

After hearing his voice and calming down, Feliciano decided to take a look out the window. It faced the back of the house, so he had a great view of the back yard. It wasn't a particularly large yard, nor was it very impressive, but Feliciano loved it. There were a few mid-sized trees, the kind just barely big enough to climb, along with several patches of pink and yellow flowers that Feliciano guessed Ludwig's mom had planted.

"Ve~ I never would have guessed how pretty it would be outside of that place…" he whispered, resting his elbows on the windowsill and putting his chin in his hands. His tail, which he had forgotten to hide when he woke up, was swaying back and forth lazily.

"It's not that great," a voice said from behind him.

"Ah, Ludwig!" Feliciano said when he turned around. "What are you talking about? It's beautiful!"

"If you say so…" Ludwig said. "So… what was 'that place' you just mentioned?" Feliciano's eyes widened a bit when he asked this.

"V-ve, um…" he stuttered. "I don't really think I should tell you. If they find out…" he trailed off, and Ludwig nodded.

"Well, you slept in really late. Mutti's about to start making lunch."

"Oh! Let me make it!" Feliciano said. When Ludwig looked like he was about to argue, he added, "I love to cook. And besides, it's the least I could do since your family's letting me stay here." Ludwig sighed, but he agreed. Feliciano started to run out of the room, but Ludwig grabbed his shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?" he yelled, causing the smaller Italian to flinch.

"Wah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Don't hit me!" he cried, covering his head with his arms for protection. Seeing this, Ludwig's grip loosened.

"I… I wasn't going to hit you," he said in a softer voice (though it was still pretty loud). "It's just… you should hide those." He pointed to Feliciano's cat ears as he said this.

"Ve? I should?" he asked with a puzzled tone.

"Ja. Mutti and Roderich might not…" he couldn't find the right words to finish his sentence, but Feliciano appeared to understand.

"Okay, I'll hide them, then. But, um… who's Roderich?" he asked. Ludwig stared for a moment as the ears and the tail disappeared into Feliciano's head and bottom of his back, leaving no sign that they had ever been there. Then he remembered that he had been asked a question.

"Oh, he's my cousin that's been staying here for…" he paused to think, "I'm not sure how long, but it's been years now. He came because the schools are better here than where his parents live. He's the reason the guest bedroom is taken. He gets lost in the house a lot, so you probably won't see him much, except for some mealtimes and when Elizaveta comes over." Yes, he always seemed to find his way around when he got hungry enough or when she came.

"Ve~ I can't wait to meet him!" Feliciano said. "If he's your cousin, then he must be nice, too." Before Ludwig could determine what he had meant by that, Feliciano ran towards the door, yelling, "I'm gonna go make lunch now! Meet me downstairs!" Ludwig watched him leave then slowly followed him.

* * *

"I hope you like pasta!" Feliciano called when he heard Ludwig walking into the combined kitchen and dining room.

"I haven't had any in a long time, but it's not bad." Feliciano's jaw dropped to the floor.

"Not bad? Pasta's amazing!" he argued. "I'll have to make this extra yummy to prove it to you~" Ludwig sighed. Even without the whole weird cat thing, this boy was still pretty odd. He had never met anybody quite like him.'_Though I have to admit, he kind of brightens this house up a bit…_'

"Done~!" Feliciano called from his spot at the stove. He carried four bowls over to the table and set them down (how he managed to carry all of them without dropping any was unknown to Ludwig and his mom). It wasn't anything too special, just spaghetti and store-bought sauce, but when Ludwig took a small bite, he was surprised at how good it was.

"Do you like it?" Feliciano asked expectantly. Ludwig looked away and blushed very lightly. '_What am I doing that for?_' he wondered.

"Y-yes, it's very good," he answered when he pushed that thought out of his head. Feliciano finished his bowl in what seemed like seconds. After patiently waiting for Ludwig to finish, he grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the back door.

"C'mon, I wanna sit outside!"

"I really think I should clean up all the tomato sauce you got on the counters first," Ludwig told him.

"Can't that wait?" he asked the taller boy.

"Go ahead outside, Ludwig," his mom told him. "I can clean it up. You two should spend some time together and get to know each other since we're all living together now."

"…fine then." Feliciano let out a happy cheer, then continued pulling Ludwig to the door. When they got out there, Feliciano sat down in the grass and looked all around him, taking in everything. '_It's even prettier from here~_' he thought.

"I'm sorry there's nowhere to sit but the ground," Ludwig said, seating himself a few feet away.

"What about that bench over there?" he asked, pointing.

"Oh, that's broken," Ludwig said. "You can't tell from here, but the seat's broken in half."

"That's too bad. I think it would be fun to sit on a bench in a nice place like this with a friend." Ludwig stared at the boy in silence for a few moments, unable to respond.

"You consider me a… friend?" he asked. "You hardly know me."

"But you're nice to me," he said. "And I'm nice to you, right?" Ludwig nodded. "So we're friends." Ludwig smiled a little.

All was quiet for a long time, save for a bird in one of the trees, which Feliciano was watching intently. After a while, I thought came to Ludwig that he felt the need to voice.

"I've been wondering," he started, drawing Feliciano's attention away from the bird. "Are there more?"

"Ve? More what?"

"More people like you. With the cat ears."

"Oh, that. Well, I don't think there were many cats besides fratello and I…"

"Fratello?" Ludwig questioned.

"My brother, Lovino. He's a cat, too. There were lots of other kinds with us. Birds, rodents, a wolf, a fox, some dogs, and a bunch of others. There was even one guy who would turn into a horse from the waist down, just like one of those… uh…" he stopped the search for the word.

"Centaurs?" Ludwig suggested.

"Yeah, those!"

"So there are a lot of people like you?" Feliciano nodded. "How come nobody's ever heard of them?" Ludwig asked. Feliciano's smile disappeared instantly.

"Ve… I'm sorry, I told them I wouldn't tell anybody about that. I wasn't even supposed to tell you there were others…" He looked away, mentally scolding himself for telling Ludwig so much.

"That's okay. You don't have to tell me," Ludwig said. He was still extremely curious. He had mentioned a brother, but where was he? And it sounded like the people like him had all been in one place, but what place was it? He decided now wasn't the time to ask more questions, so he just ignored his curious mind and looked over at Feliciano, who was happily watching the bird again, and smiled just a little bit.

* * *

There we go! A little more info on the animal people (I need a word for that).

There have been some pretty good guesses about what each person will be, but only one guess has been right so far (I won't say who yet, 'cause I don't want to give away what any will be) And some guesses are giving me ideas for the ones that I know will be animal people, but I just haven't decided what animal yet. I feel like telling you (since a lot of people are guessing for him) that Alfred will actually be a normal person like Antonio and Ludwig. That doesn't mean Matthew will be, though ^^

*sigh* I'm trying to make the chapters longer, really! They seem pretty long when I type them, then I upload the document and I'm like "What? Only 1,300 words?" *goes back to try to add to it*

Next chapter moves to another part of the story again.


End file.
